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The industrial area was sealed off by York Regional Police after the shooting occurred shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday. (Victor Biro / Victor Biro)

Carmine Verduci, 56, was shot several times outside the Regina Café at 140 Regina Rd., an industrial and retail plaza near Hwy. 7 and Martin Grove Rd. (Peter Edwards)

Rizzuto, Canada’s top Mafioso, died in bed from what were reported to be natural causes in December, in the midst of a gang war that pitted members of the Montreal mob against GTA criminals.

At the time of his death, Rizzuto was bent on revenge against at least a half dozen GTA mobsters, police sources say.

Verduci’s murder is a loud message to his old associates in the GTA and Hamilton underworld, police officers who specialize in organized crime said Friday.

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“To me it’s a huge message,” one officer said. “It’s not over just because Vito’s dead. . . . Certain people have to die before business gets done.”

Vito Rizzuto (right) speaks with his attorney Jean Salois in Montreal on Feb. 6, 2004. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)

Verduci, a suspected hitman, was a presence in the GTA underworld since the late 1970s, known for his connections and violent rages. His criminal record included assault with a weapon and weapons possession.

“He was feared on the street,” one GTA police officer said. “They called him The Animal.”

Another of his nicknames was Ciccio Formaggio, referring to his love of homemade cheese, bread, grappa and wine.

Carmine Verduci, 56, was shot several times outside the Regina Café at 140 Regina Rd., an industrial and retail plaza near Hwy. 7 and Martin Grove Rd.

Verduci was pronounced dead at the scene after he was shot several times outside the Regina Café at 140 Regina Rd., an industrial and retail plaza near Highway 7 and Martin Grove Rd.

York Regional Police say they’re looking for two suspects who fled in a grey or silver Honda Civic or similar car. They are described as male and white. One is described as short, slim and wearing a black or grey hoodie and dark baggy pants.

Police are reviewing surveillance video from surrounding businesses.

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The slaying comes after several visits to the GTA from two senior members of the old Rizzuto crime family this year.

Verduci was a prime target for Montreal assassins because he tried to encroach on turf which the Rizzutos considered their own, a police source said.

He was a frequent visitor to Montreal during the mob wars of the past five years, police say. Rizzuto’s eldest son and father are among the victims of unsolved gangland murders during that time.

During the fight to steal turf from Rizzuto, police say Verduci was part of a group that became involved with Sal Montagna, head of the Bonanno crime family of New York City.

A police report obtained by the Star states that Verduci was a “loyal member” of a GTA cell of the ’Ndrangheta international crime organization, whose illegal activities include “weapons trafficking; money laundering; municipal and federal corruption; stock market fraud and drug trafficking.”

“This group has liaison members strategically placed throughout the globe to plan and conduct operations that all lead back to a command structure located throughout Italy,” the report continues.

His connections also included senior members of the Commisso crime family and some Hamilton mobsters.

“He was clearly involved in some activity that tied the group in Toronto with the ’Ndrangheta in Calabria,” GTA organized crime expert and author Antonio Nicaso said Friday.

Verduci was also tied to local Albanian mobsters and the Gambino Mafia family of New York City, according to police.

His telephone conversations were intercepted by police in Italy in 2008 and 2009, including talks with Giuseppe (The Master) Commisso, head of the ’Ndrangheta groups in Siderno.

Italian police reported Verduci attended high-level ’Ndrangheta dinner meetings in the province of Reggio Calabria. At one of these meetings, a member from Milan said he wanted to run his own independent group, despite the objections of other members.

A month later, the dissident member was murdered.

Verduci also attended the annual ’Ndrangheta world summit in the town of Polsi. In one intercepted conversation, Verduci said he was concerned about his brother who was in jail.

Commisso replied his brother didn’t have to worry, as he wasn’t the type of man to turn against the group.

The expression Commisso used to convey this message was: “The jail never bites anyone who’s a good Christian.”

Verduci owned a comfortable yellow brick home in Woodbridge and also a sprawling farm in Caledon. He enjoyed hunting with a shotgun and working his hobby farm.

At 6 feet tall and 265 pounds, he was physically imposing, if pear-shaped.

Verduci headed his own street crew, which was active in the GTA and Hamilton. “He had his own little army of guys,” a police source said.

He was most comfortable speaking an Italian dialect from his birthplace of Oppido Mamertina in Reggio Calabria province.

Police suspected Verduci was smuggling AK-47 assault rifles into the GTA while the ’Ndrangheta was brokering arms for opium in Afghanistan.

“These weapons are coming from the United States,” a police report obtained by the Star states.

Italian authorities issued a warrant against Verduci in 2011 for “Mafia associations” but he could not be deported because he was a Canadian.

Police files on Verduci say he was believed to have arranged heroin shipments from Mexico, and that he also arranged multi-kilo shipments of cocaine.

“Cocaine is transported from Mexico-BC-Ontario,” a police report says. It says he took part in high-level deals in which mobsters swapped cocaine for heroin so they could supply both drugs in their markets.

“Verduci pre-arranges coke (cocaine) amounts for shipment and Verduci is associated to Nick ‘the Greek’ who imports kilos of heroin to Canada,” a report says.

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